Not only has Tom Daley impressed spectators with his diving prowess at the Tokyo Olympics, the gold medallist has also wowed fans with his knitting skills – even being delivered a massive new bag of yarn at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
The 27-year-old, who has an Instagram page dedicated to his hobby (it’s got more than 760k followers), has already knitted a pouch for his gold medal, and revealed he’d been working on a pink and purple coat for famous pooch Izzy The Frenchie.
But you don’t have to be a world class athlete to discover the benefits of taking up knitting:
Stress relief
It’s relatively easy to pick up the basics of knitting, but you’ve got to concentrate to make sure you don’t accidentally drop any stitches or pick up any extra, even with a simple design like a scarf.
Having to focus intently on what you’re doing with your needles can block out other distractions, so it can be a great stress-relieving activity. No wonder Daley was seen stitching on the sidelines while watching his Team GB pals competing in their events.
Improve your cognitive skills
Ever heard of “brain training”? Well, knitting is exactly the kind of task that can help boost your brain power, because it’s challenging, complex and takes practice.
And you don’t have to become an expert to reap the rewards. According to Dr. John N Morris, director of social and health policy research at the Harvard University affiliated Institute for Aging Research: “It is the constant repetition of working to improve, and not the quest for mastery, that can have the greatest impact.”
Unleash your creativity
While it’s important to stick to some pattern specifications, once you’ve learned the basics of knitting you can get creative, switching up the colours of a blanket, the buttons on a cardigan or the embellishments on a bag. You’ll feel an enormous sense of pride when you start stitching more elaborate designs.
Perfect presents
Not only can whipping up woolly garments give you a sense of satisfaction, it can allow you to create personal and unique gifts. Friends and family (or pets!) will love that you’ve invested so much time and effort in their present.
